Barcelona close to advancing in Champions League

With Lionel Messi having rediscovered his scoring touch, Barcelona can clinch a berth in the second round of the Champions League when it plays at Czech champion Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday.

Written by Associated Press

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Prague:

With Lionel Messi having rediscovered his scoring touch, Barcelona can clinch a berth in the second round of the Champions League when it plays at Czech champion Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday.

On Saturday as Barcelona beat Mallorca 5-0, Messi ended a goal drought of three matches with his 13th career hat-trick, and second of the season, to take his tally this campaign to 19 goals.

The defending European champions are tied atop Group H with AC Milan. The teams have six more points than Plzen and Belarus champion BATE Borisov at the halfway stage of the group phase. Milan could advance when it visits BATE on Tuesday.